Students Have Formula For Success in Newcastle Permanent Primary School Mathematics Competition

The sums were right for the 2023 Newcastle Permanent Primary School Mathematics Competition, with students from across the Hunter excelling in the annual event.

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With participants from some 330 schools across the Hunter, Central Coast, Mid North Coast, North Coast, Northern Rivers, Central West and New England North West, the competition challenges students to complete 35 questions without help from calculators, rulers or other mathematical instruments.

In the Year 6 division Jonah Jo from St Philip’s Christian College, Waratah was a joint winner while The Junction Public School’s Samuel Brennan finished in third place. In Year 5 two Newcastle students shared the third place honours, in New Lambton Public School’s Wenhao Wei and Tighes Hill Public School’s Isaac Hood.

Newcastle Permanent Chief Distribution Officer Paul Juergens presented major award winners with their prizes in a ceremony at the Newcastle Permanent Centre of Excellence on 31 October, while District Awards were presented at local branches across NSW.

“The Hunter region always performs well in this competition and this year was no exception, so I extend my congratulations to the students and their teachers for their fantastic efforts,” Mr Juergens said.

“Although we live in a world where we carry answers in our pockets, it is still critical that students learn to problem-solve and think on their feet.

“This competition tests those skills and asks students to apply and extend their numeracy knowledge to find the solutions they need.

“We use maths every day, and the skills these students are learning now will set them up for life.”

Based on their results, all participating students received a high distinction, distinction, merit or participation certificate, while those who placed or won a District Award also received a Newcastle Permanent account credit.

The Newcastle Permanent Primary School Mathematics Competition is the largest and longest running competition of its kind in Australia. More than 600,000 students have registered to participate since it started in 1981.

Year 5 winners

First: Roy Feria Amador, Coast Christian School

Second: Alex Shi, Gosford Public School

Equal third: Wenhao Wei, New Lambton South Public School

Equal third: Isaac Hood, Tighes Hill Public School

Year 6 winners

Equal first: Jonah Jo, St Philip’s Christian College, Waratah

Equal first: Daniel Yang, Gosford Public School

Second: Reggy Wu, Gosford Public School

Third: Samuel Brennan, The Junction Public School

Year 5 District Awards – Newcastle Region

Drsika Bobby Kannan, New Lambton Public School

Kai Tran, New Lambton South Public School

Sebastian Grover, Newcastle Grammar School

Seth Withanage, Newcastle Grammar School

Ryan Kurtz, St Philip’s Christian College, Waratah

Shotaro Iwamoto, St Philip’s Christian College, Waratah

Owen Prince, Caves Beach Public School

Archie Kerr, Eleebana Public School

Jack Blanch, Hillsborough Public School

Year 6 District Awards – Newcastle Region

Silas Donald, Belair Public School

Abhineeth Biju, Maryland Public School

Kolana Zhang, New Lambton Public School

Chloe Ting, Holy Family Primary School, Merewether

Ashein Perera, Edgeworth Public School

Aaron Hopton, Eleebana Public School

Noah Thurtell, Eleebana Public School

Connor Prince, Caves Beach Public School

Bailey Preece, Caves Beach Public School